The Guest House to get new hobby shop

The Guest House may be without a hobby shop, but it won’t be for long.

Two separate companies stepped forward after hearing last week that the nonprofit adult care center had to leave its outbuilding behind after moving to a new location on Oak Street in Gainesville.

Dana Chapman, executive director of the organization, said Georgia Power and Padgham Fine Custom Homes volunteered to build a new shop, where Guest House clients can participate in crafting wooden items, something Chapman said is beneficial, especially for those with dementia.

Chapman plans to work with both companies and possibly students at a local school to get the work done.

“It came together just beautifully,” she said.

The previous hobby shop was built in 2001 by West Hall High School students, but the nonprofit had to leave the building at its former location on Tower Heights Road, property owned by the Gainesville Housing Authority.

Chapman said at the time that it was “breaking hearts” to leave it, but she said now the nonprofit will have a newer building.

Georgia Power approached Chapman about the shop after helping the nonprofit with its move, she said. Chapman said that Richard Padgham, whose company is now a neighbor to The Guest House, then told her he’d been eying the property for weeks and when he read in The Times about the hobby shop, both he and his wife were in agreement.

“He and his wife walked in to each other at the same time and said, ‘Let’s give them a wood shop. Let’s do this. Let’s build this — right there; it’s right across the street. Let’s build this,’” Chapman said.

Chapman said she plans to have the shop built on the same plans as the first building, and she hopes to start planning the project in the summer.

“People came to us and asked if they could help, and that’s what this town is about,” Chapman said. “That’s why this is a neat little place to live.”